I can't really believe that we've already been married a whole year! It's gone so fast! I was just thinking on the way to school today that on this day last year, we had 8 inches of snow on the ground! Today it is 52 degrees :) I was happy to have the snow on our wedding day.
This past weekend we did some fun things to celebrate our anniversary. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast! Though I think I still like the idea of a Bed and Breakfast, I don't know that I would go back to this one... It was an interesting experience. The house was quite messy and she was definitely a liberal "Ann Arborite" but we still had fun! We used a gift card to the Melting Pot for dinner, which was amazing! A three course fondu meal! :) We also used a gift card to the Oasis, in which we got to rent a hot tub for an hour. It was pretty of fun, too!
A weekend of new experiences! Can't wait for year number 2!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
"Dear Parent: About THAT kid..." by Amy Murray
From another blog: Great, extremely true reminder!
Dear Parent:
I know. You’re worried. Every day, your child comes home with a story about THAT kid. The one who is always hitting shoving pinching scratching maybe even biting other children. The one who always has to hold my hand in the hallway. The one who has a special spot at the carpet, and sometimes sits on a chair rather than the floor. The one who had to leave the block center because blocks are not for throwing. The one who climbed over the playground fence right exactly as I was telling her to stop. The one who poured his neighbors milk onto the floor in a fit of anger. On purpose. While I was watching. And then, when I asked him to clean it up, emptied the ENTIRE paper towel dispenser. On purpose. While I was watching. The one who dropped the REAL ACTUAL F-word in gym class.
You’re worried that THAT child is detracting from your child’s learning experience. You’re worried that he takes up too much of my time and energy, and that your child won’t get his fair share. You’re worried that she is really going to hurt someone some day. You’re worried that “someone” might be your child. You’re worried that your child is going to start using aggression to get what she wants. You’re worried your child is going to fall behind academically because I might not notice that he is struggling to hold a pencil. I know.
Your child, this year, in this classroom, at this age, is not THAT child. Your child is not perfect, but she generally follows rules. He is able to share toys peaceably. She does not throw furniture. He raises his hand to speak. She works when it is time to work, and plays when it is time to play. He can be trusted to go straight to the bathroom and straight back again with no shenanigans. She thinks that the S-word is “stupid” and the C-word is “crap.” I know.
I know, and I am worried, too.
You see, I worry all the time. About ALL of them. I worry about your child’s pencil grip, and another child’s letter sounds, and that little tiny one’s shyness, and that other one’s chronically empty lunchbox. I worry that Gavin’s coat is not warm enough, and that Talitha’s dad yells at her for printing the letter B backwards. Most of my car rides and showers are consumed with the worrying.
But I know, you want to talk about THAT child. Because Talitha’s backward Bs are not going to give your child a black eye.
I want to talk about THAT child, too, but there are so many things I can’t tell you.
I can’t tell you that she was adopted from an orphanage at 18 months.
I can’t tell you that he is on an elimination diet for possible food allergies, and that he is therefore hungry ALL. THE. TIME.
I can’t tell you that her parents are in the middle of a horrendous divorce, and she has been staying with her grandma.
I can’t tell you that I’m starting to worry that grandma drinks…
I can’t tell you that his asthma medication makes him agitated.
I can’t tell you that her mom is a single parent, and so she (the child) is at school from the moment before-care opens, until the moment after-care closes, and then the drive between home and school takes 40 minutes, and so she (the child) is getting less sleep than most adults.
I can’t tell you that he has been a witness to domestic violence.
That’s okay, you say. You understand I can’t share personal or family information. You just want to know what I am DOING about That Child’s behaviour.
I would love to tell you. But I can’t.
I can’t tell you that she receives speech-language services, that an assessment showed a severe language delay, and that the therapist feels the aggression is linked to frustration about being unable to communicate.
I can’t tell you that I meet with his parents EVERY week, and that both of them usually cry at those meetings.
I can’t tell you that the child and I have a secret hand signal to tell me when she needs to sit by herself for a while.
I can’t tell you that he spends rest time curled in my lap because “it makes me feel better to hear your heart, Teacher.”
I can’t tell you that I have been meticulously tracking her aggressive incidents for 3 months, and that she has dropped from 5 incidents a day, to 5 incidents a week.
I can’t tell you that the school secretary has agreed that I can send him to the office to “help” when I can tell he needs a change of scenery.
I can’t tell you that I have stood up in a staff meeting and, with tears in my eyes, BEGGED my colleagues to keep an extra close eye on her, to be kind to her even when they are frustrated that she just punched someone AGAIN, and this time, RIGHT IN FRONT OF A TEACHER.
The thing is, there are SO MANY THINGS I can’t tell you about That Child. I can’t even tell you the good stuff.
I can’t tell you that his classroom job is to water the plants, and that he cried with heartbreak when one of the plants died over winter break.
I can’t tell you that she kisses her baby sister goodbye every morning, and whispers “You are my sunshine” before mom pushes the stroller away.
I can’t tell you that he knows more about thunderstorms than most meteorologists.
I can’t tell you that she often asks to help sharpen the pencils during playtime.
I can’t tell you that she strokes her best friend’s hair at rest time.
I can’t tell you that when a classmate is crying, he rushes over with his favourite stuffy from the story corner.
The thing is, dear parent, that I can only talk to you about YOUR child. So, what I can tell you is this:
If ever, at any point, YOUR child, or any of your children, becomes THAT child…
I will not share your personal family business with other parents in the classroom.
I will communicate with you frequently, clearly, and kindly.
I will make sure there are tissues nearby at all our meetings, and if you let me, I will hold your hand when you cry.
I will advocate for your child and family to receive the highest quality of specialist services, and I will cooperate with those professionals to the fullest possible extent.
I will make sure your child gets extra love and affection when she needs it most.
I will be a voice for your child in our school community.
I will, no matter what happens, continue to look for, and to find, the good, amazing, special, and wonderful things about your child.
I will remind him and YOU of those good amazing special wonderful things, over and over again.
And when another parent comes to me, with concerns about YOUR child…
I will tell them all of this, all over again.
With so much love;
Teacher.
Dear Parent:
I know. You’re worried. Every day, your child comes home with a story about THAT kid. The one who is always hitting shoving pinching scratching maybe even biting other children. The one who always has to hold my hand in the hallway. The one who has a special spot at the carpet, and sometimes sits on a chair rather than the floor. The one who had to leave the block center because blocks are not for throwing. The one who climbed over the playground fence right exactly as I was telling her to stop. The one who poured his neighbors milk onto the floor in a fit of anger. On purpose. While I was watching. And then, when I asked him to clean it up, emptied the ENTIRE paper towel dispenser. On purpose. While I was watching. The one who dropped the REAL ACTUAL F-word in gym class.
You’re worried that THAT child is detracting from your child’s learning experience. You’re worried that he takes up too much of my time and energy, and that your child won’t get his fair share. You’re worried that she is really going to hurt someone some day. You’re worried that “someone” might be your child. You’re worried that your child is going to start using aggression to get what she wants. You’re worried your child is going to fall behind academically because I might not notice that he is struggling to hold a pencil. I know.
Your child, this year, in this classroom, at this age, is not THAT child. Your child is not perfect, but she generally follows rules. He is able to share toys peaceably. She does not throw furniture. He raises his hand to speak. She works when it is time to work, and plays when it is time to play. He can be trusted to go straight to the bathroom and straight back again with no shenanigans. She thinks that the S-word is “stupid” and the C-word is “crap.” I know.
I know, and I am worried, too.
You see, I worry all the time. About ALL of them. I worry about your child’s pencil grip, and another child’s letter sounds, and that little tiny one’s shyness, and that other one’s chronically empty lunchbox. I worry that Gavin’s coat is not warm enough, and that Talitha’s dad yells at her for printing the letter B backwards. Most of my car rides and showers are consumed with the worrying.
But I know, you want to talk about THAT child. Because Talitha’s backward Bs are not going to give your child a black eye.
I want to talk about THAT child, too, but there are so many things I can’t tell you.
I can’t tell you that she was adopted from an orphanage at 18 months.
I can’t tell you that he is on an elimination diet for possible food allergies, and that he is therefore hungry ALL. THE. TIME.
I can’t tell you that her parents are in the middle of a horrendous divorce, and she has been staying with her grandma.
I can’t tell you that I’m starting to worry that grandma drinks…
I can’t tell you that his asthma medication makes him agitated.
I can’t tell you that her mom is a single parent, and so she (the child) is at school from the moment before-care opens, until the moment after-care closes, and then the drive between home and school takes 40 minutes, and so she (the child) is getting less sleep than most adults.
I can’t tell you that he has been a witness to domestic violence.
That’s okay, you say. You understand I can’t share personal or family information. You just want to know what I am DOING about That Child’s behaviour.
I would love to tell you. But I can’t.
I can’t tell you that she receives speech-language services, that an assessment showed a severe language delay, and that the therapist feels the aggression is linked to frustration about being unable to communicate.
I can’t tell you that I meet with his parents EVERY week, and that both of them usually cry at those meetings.
I can’t tell you that the child and I have a secret hand signal to tell me when she needs to sit by herself for a while.
I can’t tell you that he spends rest time curled in my lap because “it makes me feel better to hear your heart, Teacher.”
I can’t tell you that I have been meticulously tracking her aggressive incidents for 3 months, and that she has dropped from 5 incidents a day, to 5 incidents a week.
I can’t tell you that the school secretary has agreed that I can send him to the office to “help” when I can tell he needs a change of scenery.
I can’t tell you that I have stood up in a staff meeting and, with tears in my eyes, BEGGED my colleagues to keep an extra close eye on her, to be kind to her even when they are frustrated that she just punched someone AGAIN, and this time, RIGHT IN FRONT OF A TEACHER.
The thing is, there are SO MANY THINGS I can’t tell you about That Child. I can’t even tell you the good stuff.
I can’t tell you that his classroom job is to water the plants, and that he cried with heartbreak when one of the plants died over winter break.
I can’t tell you that she kisses her baby sister goodbye every morning, and whispers “You are my sunshine” before mom pushes the stroller away.
I can’t tell you that he knows more about thunderstorms than most meteorologists.
I can’t tell you that she often asks to help sharpen the pencils during playtime.
I can’t tell you that she strokes her best friend’s hair at rest time.
I can’t tell you that when a classmate is crying, he rushes over with his favourite stuffy from the story corner.
The thing is, dear parent, that I can only talk to you about YOUR child. So, what I can tell you is this:
If ever, at any point, YOUR child, or any of your children, becomes THAT child…
I will not share your personal family business with other parents in the classroom.
I will communicate with you frequently, clearly, and kindly.
I will make sure there are tissues nearby at all our meetings, and if you let me, I will hold your hand when you cry.
I will advocate for your child and family to receive the highest quality of specialist services, and I will cooperate with those professionals to the fullest possible extent.
I will make sure your child gets extra love and affection when she needs it most.
I will be a voice for your child in our school community.
I will, no matter what happens, continue to look for, and to find, the good, amazing, special, and wonderful things about your child.
I will remind him and YOU of those good amazing special wonderful things, over and over again.
And when another parent comes to me, with concerns about YOUR child…
I will tell them all of this, all over again.
With so much love;
Teacher.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Finger Cast
I put out those pencil top erasers the other day in the writing center. The kids weren't supposed to touch them until further direction. The other day out at recess, a boy came up and tattled on a girl in my class. He claimed that she had an eraser in her hand. After further inspection, I noticed that sure enough, the girl had a bright green eraser in her hand. As she saw me looking intently at the eraser which was now capping her finger, she said (quite loudly!), "Nuh uh!! It's a finger cast!!" The boy was not buying it. The boy again told me very seriously that she was carrying an eraser. She retorted, "No it's not! It's really a finger cast! It just looks like an eraser!" Though I was laughing hysterically inside, of course I kept my composure and we had a nice chat about telling the truth :) Then I came home and laughed quite hard about that!
Monday, October 6, 2014
Last 2 weeks
A lot has happened since I last wrote! First of all, Josh's dad had 2 strokes 2 weeks ago. He was in the hospital for the last two weeks and is now trying to lead a somewhat normal life back at his home. We've been visiting or helping him every spare minute we have. He's doing a lot better and is able to walk a bit with the walker. He lives alone, so that poses all sorts of other challenges. Anyway, we need prayer that this wouldn't been too overwhelming and for his dad's smooth recovery.
We moved! Guess what!? The week of the move, there was another flood and another big hole cut in our ceiling! That totals up to four times our ceiling leaked and they had to cut it open! It was almost funny this time! Glad we're out of there :) We really like our new place. It's a bit smaller (but cheaper :)) and nice enough for us to save up our money for a house next year.
Call us crazy....but also in the last 2 weeks we went down to one car (to save more money for the house). I think we'll only do this for a little while, considering it's kind of hard to completely coordinate our schedules. So far so good though!
School is going well! I love my class and they are pretty low maintenance, which is great since we have so much other going on! Thanks for your prayers :)
We moved! Guess what!? The week of the move, there was another flood and another big hole cut in our ceiling! That totals up to four times our ceiling leaked and they had to cut it open! It was almost funny this time! Glad we're out of there :) We really like our new place. It's a bit smaller (but cheaper :)) and nice enough for us to save up our money for a house next year.
Call us crazy....but also in the last 2 weeks we went down to one car (to save more money for the house). I think we'll only do this for a little while, considering it's kind of hard to completely coordinate our schedules. So far so good though!
School is going well! I love my class and they are pretty low maintenance, which is great since we have so much other going on! Thanks for your prayers :)
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
I Forgot!
I forgot how funny it is to start out the year with Kindergarteners! By about 2:00, my few 4 years old students are get for a nap! I can tell that they are so sleepy and they say, "Can I go home now?" The first few days, I had one really friendly boy that while I was giving important directions and right in the middle of a big spiel, would spot someone across the classroom and waving wildly shout, "HI ISABELLA!" Haahaha!
Today I was assessing the students on which letters and sounds that they know. When we got to the lowercase "t", one said, "Ooooooh, I know this one. It's a cross!" :) Of course there are always some who call an "o" a circle and an "l" a number one. My personal favorite is when I ask the student the numbers and they say without missing a beat...." 5, 6, 7, snowman (instead of 8), 9, 10... That is so funny!
I have my work cut out for me! :) I do seem to have a very good class!
Today I was assessing the students on which letters and sounds that they know. When we got to the lowercase "t", one said, "Ooooooh, I know this one. It's a cross!" :) Of course there are always some who call an "o" a circle and an "l" a number one. My personal favorite is when I ask the student the numbers and they say without missing a beat...." 5, 6, 7, snowman (instead of 8), 9, 10... That is so funny!
I have my work cut out for me! :) I do seem to have a very good class!
Monday, August 11, 2014
6 States in 3 Days
This past weekend we took off Friday and Monday to go on vacation. Naturally, our co-workers asked where we were going on vacation. We told them that we were going to Niagara Falls, NY and Chicago. They looked puzzled, trying to figure out how we were going to do this in a weekend. Our answer...day trips! On Friday, we got up at 3:30 in the morning and headed out of the house at 4 for Niagara Falls! We spent the day there and got home at 1:00 in the morning! Saturday was our day to rest, except that Josh helped a friend landscape all day, so he didn't get much rest... Then, Sunday morning, we left at 4:30 and headed to Chicago, only to return again at 1:00am. Our co-workers laughed and laughed when we told them we were trying to save money on a hotel and just come home instead. They thought that was the funniest thing! They joked about it all day and when we left work, they gave us a packed bag of leftover camp snacks to take with us (so we wouldn't have to buy food) hahahaha! They packed chips, frozen pizza, muffins, granola bars and anything else they could find in the kitchen. It was pretty funny! :) Everyone we tell about our mini-vacations laughs equally as hard, but hey, we had a great time!!
Cave of the Winds Tour
Millennium Park
This is our bag of snacks!
Kayaking on the Chicago River! This will right before the women in the kayak behind us almost ran into us and tipped us over. Close call!
Man, life has been pretty exciting in the last few weeks! Two weeks ago we did a high ropes course with my family in Frankenmuth! Balancing on wires 25 feet about ground doing really hard maneuvers! Freaky. Even my parent did the course. Very impressive! Life is good!
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Apartment Dilemma
Our apartment lease is up at the end of September and we've been struggling with where to live. We have been praying about staying at our current apartment, hoping that God would soften the hearts of the ladies in the office to keep our rent the same. We went in to talk to them last week and they predict that our rent will go up about $100 per month... Ugh... So, now we're left to decide what to do. Yes, we can afford the pay $100 more dollars but this prevents us from paying of college loans as quickly as we'd hoped and saving up for a down payment on a house. We started looking around this week at other apartments that are cheaper. We found one that we liked, is significantly cheaper and had decided that this may be the one BUT there is a waitlist with 8 people before us. God is not really giving us any direction and nothing seems to be falling into place. We're kind of discouraged about all of this and could use your prayer. I know God will work it all out but it is not fun waiting! :)
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Mud
Last weekend was Josh and my first camping trip. We were going to a wedding of a college friend on Sunday and decided to camp near the wedding in Battle Creek. We looked at the weather and by the time we left, there was practically no chance of rain. Wrong.
We got to the campground and found our site, which was a bit smaller than we imagined. Josh's mom had let us borrow a screened in porch kind of tent that was 12x20! That's huge! It was a bear to get up, too, with just the two of us trying to put together 6 poles and raise the tent in sync. It took a good hour and some frustration on my part, hah! Finally we got the big tent up and then we put our picnic table and real tent under it :) That was the easy part. All was well for the night except that it was about 80 degrees and 80 % humidity all night. We were so hot that we used a big window fan (which was blowing right on Josh's face because our tent is small) and by the middle of the night we were freezing!!
The next morning went well until the grease fire at breakfast. Let's just say that our bacon was charred and we will no longer be using high flames when cooking grease over a fire, hahaha! Supposedly coals are better. We were really excited about the coffee pot percolator thing that my parents had given us. I got out the creamer poured a cup of coffee and it only made a 1/2 cup of coffee! For both of us! It tasted like plastic (because I had the coffee grounds in plastic bags to save space) and a spoonful of grounds with the coffee poured nicely into my mug. Ooops, must have done something wrong! So off we went to the coffee shop in town (20 minutes away). It was really good coffee :)
That afternoon we went kayaking, which was very fun! The lady at the boat rental warned us that there could be storms that afternoon. We weren't concerned. After we got back from our trip around the island in the kayak it started to thunder. It thundered around for a long time and then it started to sprinkle. The lady next store was just setting up her tent, so we offered to help her since it was about to rain. Josh had no longer said, "I don't think it'll be a big storm or anything...." when it started to pour. Though it only poured for 20 minutes, we laughed as the water began filling our campsite. We kept thinking it would stop any minute. It didn't. We stood on top of the table as the water pooled inside our big tent and then under the small one. I know this sounds like an exaggeration but it's not. Our entire campsite was 2 inches under water! I sloshed through to the real tent to see if our sheets and stuff were getting wet. Surprisingly, even though I could feel all the water under the tent, nothing inside got wet!! After all of this, we were considering going to Josh's mom's house to spend the night. BUT, after 30 minutes, all the water had receded! We spent the night comfortably. UNTIL, we heard scratch, scratch, scratch, in the middle of the night. We had left two bagged bagels on top of the picnic table, under the zipped tent! A raccoon stole our breakfast! So off to the coffee shop we went again before taking everything down and going to the wedding.
It was an adventure for sure! We were planning on camping quite a few times over the summer but now we're thinking the family reunion campout my be enough for this summer, hahaha. Too much work and you can't depend on the weather! Overall it was fun though. We got in some relaxation and had an experience! Funny memories!
We got to the campground and found our site, which was a bit smaller than we imagined. Josh's mom had let us borrow a screened in porch kind of tent that was 12x20! That's huge! It was a bear to get up, too, with just the two of us trying to put together 6 poles and raise the tent in sync. It took a good hour and some frustration on my part, hah! Finally we got the big tent up and then we put our picnic table and real tent under it :) That was the easy part. All was well for the night except that it was about 80 degrees and 80 % humidity all night. We were so hot that we used a big window fan (which was blowing right on Josh's face because our tent is small) and by the middle of the night we were freezing!!
The next morning went well until the grease fire at breakfast. Let's just say that our bacon was charred and we will no longer be using high flames when cooking grease over a fire, hahaha! Supposedly coals are better. We were really excited about the coffee pot percolator thing that my parents had given us. I got out the creamer poured a cup of coffee and it only made a 1/2 cup of coffee! For both of us! It tasted like plastic (because I had the coffee grounds in plastic bags to save space) and a spoonful of grounds with the coffee poured nicely into my mug. Ooops, must have done something wrong! So off we went to the coffee shop in town (20 minutes away). It was really good coffee :)
That afternoon we went kayaking, which was very fun! The lady at the boat rental warned us that there could be storms that afternoon. We weren't concerned. After we got back from our trip around the island in the kayak it started to thunder. It thundered around for a long time and then it started to sprinkle. The lady next store was just setting up her tent, so we offered to help her since it was about to rain. Josh had no longer said, "I don't think it'll be a big storm or anything...." when it started to pour. Though it only poured for 20 minutes, we laughed as the water began filling our campsite. We kept thinking it would stop any minute. It didn't. We stood on top of the table as the water pooled inside our big tent and then under the small one. I know this sounds like an exaggeration but it's not. Our entire campsite was 2 inches under water! I sloshed through to the real tent to see if our sheets and stuff were getting wet. Surprisingly, even though I could feel all the water under the tent, nothing inside got wet!! After all of this, we were considering going to Josh's mom's house to spend the night. BUT, after 30 minutes, all the water had receded! We spent the night comfortably. UNTIL, we heard scratch, scratch, scratch, in the middle of the night. We had left two bagged bagels on top of the picnic table, under the zipped tent! A raccoon stole our breakfast! So off to the coffee shop we went again before taking everything down and going to the wedding.
It was an adventure for sure! We were planning on camping quite a few times over the summer but now we're thinking the family reunion campout my be enough for this summer, hahaha. Too much work and you can't depend on the weather! Overall it was fun though. We got in some relaxation and had an experience! Funny memories!
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Big God
It's been really neat this year to go about discussions a little differently. I guess I've been thinking about how I am with these kids for 7 hours a day (more than some of the parents) and how God would want me to teach them in the way of Lord. This is tricky of course because I'm not allowed to bring up God, Jesus or faith. I don't think this has to completely close the door though because they are allowed to talk about it if a student brings it up...
I have a series of Big Books about science. Some are about how plants and animals grow, some are about recycling, some are about life cycles. When we talked the other day about the life cycle of a butterfly, I mentioned how it's so cool that no one taught the butterfly how to be an egg, form into a caterpillar, create a chrysalis, and bust out a butterfly! It was just created that way to do that specific purpose. If I act really excited about those things, then they get even more excited! They have an amazing sense of wonder. I regularly talk about things like how awesome it is that flowers weren't taught how to break through their seed or push through the dirt, or bees weren't taught how to pollinate, or that the Earth is only 1 of trillions of other planets, they were just created that way! Usually a student will say that God created it to do that. Then I just smile and sit back while they finish their little discussion about God without me saying a word. Yesterday in learning about space, the students thought it was so cool that if Earth were a little closer or farther away from the sun, there would be no life on Earth. They also found it interesting that that little Earth in the picture is just one of trillions(?) of other planets and other solar systems. At the end of the lesson, Noah said, "Wow, He's a really big God!" The 5 year olds get it. Most adults don't... So strange. I've learned a lot this year about appreciating (or even noticing) little things in nature from this group of kids. We could all take a lesson on being appreciative of God and his creation from these Kindergarteners!
I have a series of Big Books about science. Some are about how plants and animals grow, some are about recycling, some are about life cycles. When we talked the other day about the life cycle of a butterfly, I mentioned how it's so cool that no one taught the butterfly how to be an egg, form into a caterpillar, create a chrysalis, and bust out a butterfly! It was just created that way to do that specific purpose. If I act really excited about those things, then they get even more excited! They have an amazing sense of wonder. I regularly talk about things like how awesome it is that flowers weren't taught how to break through their seed or push through the dirt, or bees weren't taught how to pollinate, or that the Earth is only 1 of trillions of other planets, they were just created that way! Usually a student will say that God created it to do that. Then I just smile and sit back while they finish their little discussion about God without me saying a word. Yesterday in learning about space, the students thought it was so cool that if Earth were a little closer or farther away from the sun, there would be no life on Earth. They also found it interesting that that little Earth in the picture is just one of trillions(?) of other planets and other solar systems. At the end of the lesson, Noah said, "Wow, He's a really big God!" The 5 year olds get it. Most adults don't... So strange. I've learned a lot this year about appreciating (or even noticing) little things in nature from this group of kids. We could all take a lesson on being appreciative of God and his creation from these Kindergarteners!
Friday, May 23, 2014
Green Beans in the Living Room
This Spring, Josh and I decided to plant a garden. You may be wondering how we'll do this in an apartment. Well, we saw an add for $10 plots in the community garden right around the corner from us! So we went to the store to get seeds and starter plants for our garden (that we hadn't purchased yet...). Our second stop was at the community center to buy a plot for the summer. Unfortunately this was in early April and we weren't allowed to plan until they had designated the plots this week. Therefore, we have green beans (rather large climbing plants!), squash, broccoli, carrots, spinach, lettuce, cilantro, basil, parsley, rosemary and corn growing in our living room. It's quite embarrassing when people come over. At first we tried moving all the planters into the bedroom when people came but it was too much moving around, so we just leave them out for visitors. Definitely a conversation piece! Last weekend we tilled up the garden (by shovel and rake!) and we're hoping to plant them this weekend. We weren't exactly sure how much to plant in a 10x10 plot so we did a little of everything. Maybe we should have researched some more before jumping into all of this! Anyway, I think we're going to have a ton of produce!! Let me know if you want any! :)
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
The Future Cowboy
The other day I was trying to inspire the kids to want to read and see a bigger purpose in reading. I was trying to explain that they need to read in everyday life. We started talking about the different jobs that they wanted to have when they grow up. Some students wanted to be a firefighter, so I explained that they would need to be able to read the street signs when they drive the fire truck. Some people wanted to be a cashier, so I explained that they would need to read the receipts. Some students wanted to be a teacher, so I explained that they would need to read books to the children. I was feeling quite proud that I'd gotten around to almost all the class and found a purpose for reading for every job. Then...I had to get extremely creative.
Me: "What would you like to be when you grow up?"
Student: "A COWBOY!!!"
Me: "Hmmmmmmm (hahahaha) well..............cowboys ride horses, so I guess you'd have to read a book about how to train a horse!
A bit far fetched on that one!
Me: "What would you like to be when you grow up?"
Student: "A COWBOY!!!"
Me: "Hmmmmmmm (hahahaha) well..............cowboys ride horses, so I guess you'd have to read a book about how to train a horse!
A bit far fetched on that one!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Missing Chunk of Hair
The other day I was at the round table with a small group of kids reading. The rest of the class were around the room at centers. I should have known not to let the kids work independently with scissors....
So, after the first rotation of centers, one of the girls shrieked, "He cut his hair!" I thought she was exaggerating, so I thought that I would take care of it after centers were finished. Well, I forgot. Until...we went to library and the librarian said, "Oh my, did you cut your own hair!?" I looked more closely and sure enough, a chunk of his hair in the front was missing! Oh no! What would the parents think??
Unfortunately, spring picture day was the next day! Hahaha his parents were genius and spiked his hair with gel and you couldn't even see the short spot! We talked about it at conferences and they informed me that it was not the first time that this had happened!! :)
I found out I get to keep my job next year! Same grade and same school! Yay! I'm already starting to plan out some of the things I will do differently next year. Hard to believe there are only a couple more months of the school year! I am looking for a summer job. Hopefully I will be able to babysit for a family full time. Alright, off to take a Sunday afternoon nap! :)
So, after the first rotation of centers, one of the girls shrieked, "He cut his hair!" I thought she was exaggerating, so I thought that I would take care of it after centers were finished. Well, I forgot. Until...we went to library and the librarian said, "Oh my, did you cut your own hair!?" I looked more closely and sure enough, a chunk of his hair in the front was missing! Oh no! What would the parents think??
Unfortunately, spring picture day was the next day! Hahaha his parents were genius and spiked his hair with gel and you couldn't even see the short spot! We talked about it at conferences and they informed me that it was not the first time that this had happened!! :)
I found out I get to keep my job next year! Same grade and same school! Yay! I'm already starting to plan out some of the things I will do differently next year. Hard to believe there are only a couple more months of the school year! I am looking for a summer job. Hopefully I will be able to babysit for a family full time. Alright, off to take a Sunday afternoon nap! :)
Thursday, February 27, 2014
The Stingray on my Porch
The other day in my class, we were talking about birds and nests. One kid said that one day a bird built it's nest in the tree by their front porch. The next thing ya know, one of the other kids said, "Oh, one time there was a stingray on my front porch!!" Hahaha, I said, "Are you sure it was a stingray because stingrays live in the ocean." All he said was, "Ohh....." Haha, I caught him fibbing ;) These days we're trying to distinguish the made up stories from real stories. Ties right into fiction vs. non-fiction! :)
I am constantly reminded of Danny and his kids when my students complain. Danny teaches his kids about the verse that says, "Do everything without grumbling or complaining." I'm tempted to use that verse in the classroom! Lots of complainers these days when they don't get their way. I kindly remind that sometimes we have to do things we don't like to do. They were amazed that even I have to do things I don't like to do. We can still choose to have a good attitude. We're still practicing our good attitudes! ;)
I am constantly reminded of Danny and his kids when my students complain. Danny teaches his kids about the verse that says, "Do everything without grumbling or complaining." I'm tempted to use that verse in the classroom! Lots of complainers these days when they don't get their way. I kindly remind that sometimes we have to do things we don't like to do. They were amazed that even I have to do things I don't like to do. We can still choose to have a good attitude. We're still practicing our good attitudes! ;)
Thursday, February 6, 2014
The Winter That Never Ends
Well the snow was nice for the wedding, but that was almost 2 months ago and I'm about done with it! I never remember a winter being this harsh! We've missed 6 days of school (which is kind of nice)! Even though it's been a harsh winter, life is good! :) Married life is fun! We've figured a lot out already and I can't wait to learn more about each other. It's been fun to hang out with married couples at church now (doesn't that make us sound old?). Right now we're doing a kickboxing class at church and it is kicking us! We were both sore this morning!
Things are going extremely well at school! My kids are learning so fast these days. They all know how to read now and are starting to write sentences. Kindergarten is the most rewarding job in the world! Everyday I go home excited because another student learned something cool that day. I thought I'd share this poem with you. It was passed down from Sylvia to my mom and then to me. VERY true:
Winter Boots
Did you hear about the teacher who was helping one of her
pupils put on his boots?
He asked for help and she could see why.
Even with her pulling, and him pushing,
the little boots still didn't want to go on.
By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.
She almost cried when the little boy said,
'Teacher, they're on the wrong feet.'
She looked, and sure enough, they were.
Unfortunately, it wasn't any easier pulling the boots off,than it was putting them on.
She managed to keep her cool as, together, they worked to get the boots back on,this time on the correct feet.He then announced, 'These aren't my boots.'
She bit her tongue, rather than get right in his face and
scream, 'Why didn't you say so?'
like she wanted to.
Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting
boots off his little feet.
No sooner had they got the boots off when he said,
'They're my brother's boots. But my Mom made me wear 'em today.'
Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry.
But she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to
wrestle the boots BACK onto his feet again.
Helping him into his coat, she asked,
'Now, where are your mittens?'
He said, 'I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots.'
She'll be eligible for parole in three years.
Haha, this is what I do everyday!
Things are going extremely well at school! My kids are learning so fast these days. They all know how to read now and are starting to write sentences. Kindergarten is the most rewarding job in the world! Everyday I go home excited because another student learned something cool that day. I thought I'd share this poem with you. It was passed down from Sylvia to my mom and then to me. VERY true:
Winter Boots
Did you hear about the teacher who was helping one of her
pupils put on his boots?
He asked for help and she could see why.
Even with her pulling, and him pushing,
the little boots still didn't want to go on.
By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.
She almost cried when the little boy said,
'Teacher, they're on the wrong feet.'
She looked, and sure enough, they were.
Unfortunately, it wasn't any easier pulling the boots off,than it was putting them on.
She managed to keep her cool as, together, they worked to get the boots back on,this time on the correct feet.He then announced, 'These aren't my boots.'
She bit her tongue, rather than get right in his face and
scream, 'Why didn't you say so?'
like she wanted to.
Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting
boots off his little feet.
No sooner had they got the boots off when he said,
'They're my brother's boots. But my Mom made me wear 'em today.'
Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry.
But she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to
wrestle the boots BACK onto his feet again.
Helping him into his coat, she asked,
'Now, where are your mittens?'
He said, 'I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots.'
She'll be eligible for parole in three years.
Haha, this is what I do everyday!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Life as Mrs. Andrews
Hello, my name is Sara Andrews. I'm married!!!! Oh boy, so much to blog about! December 14, 2013 was our wedding! I can't wait to share pictures! The day was beautiful. Everything went exactly the way that I had prayed it would (complete with 7 inches of snow! :0). The ceremony went smoothly, the reception went well and it was our perfect day! That night we headed up to Detroit to stay at the Renaissance Center on the river :) The next morning we headed off for FLORIDA! Even though there was so much snow the say before, the roads weren't too bad while we were driving. We stopped the first night in Knoxville, TN. The next day we finished our 10 hour drive in Daytona Beach, FL.
It was in the 60s the first few days and in the 80s the last few days! Much better than Michigan! We had a lot of cool experiences! We went to a lot of cool local restaurants and went parasailing (in which we saw a HUGE manta ray, sharks and dolphins below us. So neat (and a little scary!) We went to St. Augustine for a day trip, a couples massage and a few days on the beach. Pretty relaxing!
On the way home, we stopped in Newport, TN to visit Josh's "grandma" that wasn't able to come to the wedding because of the big snow. We finally got to the town at 7:00 at night, stomachs growling. To our surprise, there were no restaurants ( or at least open) in the whole town! So, dinner was cheese crackers from the local gas station...haha. Then the fun began...It had rained for the past two days so flooding had occurred, as well as trees fallen and there was a lot of fog. One small detail....Ruth (Josh's grandma) lives on top of a mountain. No joke, on top of a real mountain. So, here we drove up the winding roads with hair pin turns, with the flooding (which made small waterfalls in the mountains!), trees down on the side of the road and fog, and cliffs to the side. We inched along and finally made it there and back. Then we stayed at a nasty Comfort Inn (that was not actually all that comfortable). We were glad to get out of there and head back for Christmas Eve at our new home.
Christmas went well with both families but.....on the way home from family Christmas' we received a phone call from our apartment that there had been a "small" leak above us and that there were a few drops of water on our dining room table. Unfortunately by the time we got there, there was a whole lot more than a few drops. There was a flood in the apartment above and it had seeped down into our ceiling and was now coming down in a steady stream in multiple places. In came the clean up upholstery guys and they cut 9 holes in our ceiling to let all the water pour out. In the process, all of our stuff was getting wet! We quickly removed all of the wedding presents and eventually everything in the whole apartment in order to keep from ruining our things! The apartment complex gave us another apartment to house our things. My parents and a couple friends came over to help us move everything out within 5 hours. It was quite a night...I only cried once, when I emotionally thought we were homeless ;) Haha, turns out we have been SO blessed! Nothing was ruined! We are now in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 4 CLOSET apartment for only $50 more!! Just today we did our class bit of rearranging and decorating to make it our new home :) We love it! Even though it was a huge pain at the time, it turned out better for us in the end. Isn't that how things usually work out? ;) God's sure got His hand on us!
Picture of the wedding and new apartment to come...
It was in the 60s the first few days and in the 80s the last few days! Much better than Michigan! We had a lot of cool experiences! We went to a lot of cool local restaurants and went parasailing (in which we saw a HUGE manta ray, sharks and dolphins below us. So neat (and a little scary!) We went to St. Augustine for a day trip, a couples massage and a few days on the beach. Pretty relaxing!
On the way home, we stopped in Newport, TN to visit Josh's "grandma" that wasn't able to come to the wedding because of the big snow. We finally got to the town at 7:00 at night, stomachs growling. To our surprise, there were no restaurants ( or at least open) in the whole town! So, dinner was cheese crackers from the local gas station...haha. Then the fun began...It had rained for the past two days so flooding had occurred, as well as trees fallen and there was a lot of fog. One small detail....Ruth (Josh's grandma) lives on top of a mountain. No joke, on top of a real mountain. So, here we drove up the winding roads with hair pin turns, with the flooding (which made small waterfalls in the mountains!), trees down on the side of the road and fog, and cliffs to the side. We inched along and finally made it there and back. Then we stayed at a nasty Comfort Inn (that was not actually all that comfortable). We were glad to get out of there and head back for Christmas Eve at our new home.
Christmas went well with both families but.....on the way home from family Christmas' we received a phone call from our apartment that there had been a "small" leak above us and that there were a few drops of water on our dining room table. Unfortunately by the time we got there, there was a whole lot more than a few drops. There was a flood in the apartment above and it had seeped down into our ceiling and was now coming down in a steady stream in multiple places. In came the clean up upholstery guys and they cut 9 holes in our ceiling to let all the water pour out. In the process, all of our stuff was getting wet! We quickly removed all of the wedding presents and eventually everything in the whole apartment in order to keep from ruining our things! The apartment complex gave us another apartment to house our things. My parents and a couple friends came over to help us move everything out within 5 hours. It was quite a night...I only cried once, when I emotionally thought we were homeless ;) Haha, turns out we have been SO blessed! Nothing was ruined! We are now in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 4 CLOSET apartment for only $50 more!! Just today we did our class bit of rearranging and decorating to make it our new home :) We love it! Even though it was a huge pain at the time, it turned out better for us in the end. Isn't that how things usually work out? ;) God's sure got His hand on us!
Picture of the wedding and new apartment to come...
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